Everything suddenly went black before her eyes.
Kagami Kusakabe froze for a moment before lowering her head.
She saw the tip of a dark purple dagger—its razor-sharp blade protruding from her chest, having pierced clean through from behind.
Her lips parted slightly.
She wanted to say something, but excruciating pain instantly assaulted her nerves, sending her entire body into spasms. Unable to control herself, she toppled from her chair and collapsed onto the floor.
"Sorry about this, Kagami-chan. I didn't expect you to dig this deep," a slender, tall figure stepped up to the computer, scanning the rows of data on the screen.
"Impressive. There's even information here I wasn't aware of. You really do have a talent for journalism."
The speaker was a strikingly handsome man.
His expression carried a perpetual air of melancholy, his brows slightly downturned, lips curved in a smile devoid of warmth.
It was Nagi Arisuin.
Kagami tried to scream for help, but all strength had left her body. Her mind grew hazy, and she couldn't even muster the voice to cry out.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you. After all, we're on decent terms," Arisuin spoke coldly to the fallen Kagami.
"But you won't be showing yourself to anyone for a while. I'll find a safe place to stash you—just for a day. By this time tomorrow, everything will be set in stone anyway."
He reached out and destroyed all the data on the computer and desk, leaving no trace behind.
Then, bending down, he hoisted Kagami up.
Might as well dump her in a warehouse somewhere.
The orders from Reisen Hiraga didn't require killing her. As long as tomorrow passed and the client's plan succeeded, she could be released.
By then, his role would be complete.
Thud.
Just as Arisuin was lost in thought, a palm-sized object clattered to the floor.
It had fallen from Kagami's embrace—still glowing.
On its screen, the words "Call in Progress…" were displayed.
"The emergency call function on the student handbook… Could it be?"
Arisuin stiffened momentarily, his face twisting in shock as he looked at Kagami.
Sure enough, her expression screamed, "Oh no, I've been found out."
When she fell to the ground, she had pretended to be too weak to resist, but in reality, she had stealthily retrieved her student handbook and activated the emergency call.
To ensure student knights could immediately alert the outside world when facing terrorists, the student handbook naturally included an emergency call feature—activated with just a fingerprint.
The call would then connect to a pre-set emergency contact.
And Kagami's emergency contact was, of course—
"Eri… you really fooled me."
Arisuin stood dumbfounded for a moment, utterly speechless.
BANG!
Before he could react, the door was blasted off its hinges with a deafening crash.
Starlight spilled in from outside.
A boy stood at the doorway, his entire being radiating a razor-sharp intensity—as if he were moments away from drawing his blade and cutting someone down.
Kagami's face lit up with pure relief.
Considering that the puppeteer traveling with Kurogane Ouma was a complete pervert, Eiji deemed this group highly dangerous. To prepare for emergencies, he had her change the emergency contact to himself, making it easier for him to come to the rescue if anything went wrong.
"But I didn't expect it would actually be used."
Eiji stepped into the room, his gaze icy as he looked at Arisuin Nagi.
"Just a joke… you wouldn't actually try to fool me like this, would you?"
His guess was correct.
Behind this year's Seven Stars Sword Art Festival, there was indeed a massive conspiracy.
"Alice… what's going on?"
Behind him, Touka and the others appeared, staring at him in disbelief.
It was dinner time.
Eiji had received a call, rushed out without saying a word, and the others at the table, thinking something had happened, followed him.
Among them was Shizuku.
At first, she was stunned, then slightly dazed, before her expression tensed up.
"Ahaha… I surrender."
Arisuin let out a bitter laugh.
Then he set Kagami down on the floor and raised his hands in surrender.
Against this lineup, there was no way he could win.
Admittedly, he could have used Kagami as a hostage and escaped through the shadow passage.
But—
Arisuin glanced at Shizuku, who was already prepared for battle, and for a moment, his expression wavered.
"...I'll tell you everything."
He spoke with complete sincerity.
Even Eiji, who had been on guard, was taken aback.
Was this an attempt to lower their guard?
The moment this thought crossed his mind, Arisuin proactively tossed Kagami toward him, and Eiji caught her.
Kagami happily wrapped her arms around Eiji's neck, the earlier frailness miraculously gone.
He even gave up the hostage?
If he had threatened them with Kagami, Eiji would have hesitated. But he never expected him to return her so readily.
Was this… an acceptance of the situation and a refusal to resist?
Surely not a defection?
Haha, no way, no way.
***
The seven-day joint training camp passed in a flash.
The time spent with Kyomon Academy had been pleasant enough, and now the Hagun Academy students were packing up—they'd be returning to school that afternoon.
After parting ways, the Kyomon students were overjoyed, their laughter and chatter unending.
After about ten days of rest, the Seven Stars Sword Art Festival would begin.
But before that, there was still a tough battle ahead.
"How's it going?"
In front of the bus, Eiji asked his senior.
"No good. Still can't reach anyone."
Touka's face was full of worry.
"The chairman, the senior, the old man… not a single one of them can be reached all day?"
Eiji frowned at her words.
The old man had left during the day yesterday, supposedly called away by some urgent matter.
Kurono and Nene had gone to Osaka to discuss festival arrangements with the organizers, so they weren't at the academy either.
But even so, it shouldn't be impossible to reach any of them.
The signal was fine—others could get through—yet these specific individuals were unreachable.
"What are you all dawdling for?"
Stella leaned out of the car window, her red hair dancing in the wind.
"Even if we can't reach them, our tactics are flawless!"
Moreover, their group was exceptionally strong—each member could hold their own ground and thrive even in professional circles. Stella's confidence wasn't unfounded.
"At this point, we have no choice but to push forward."
Eiji sighed.
Then he patted his cheeks, trying to lift his spirits, and boarded the bus with his senior.
It was strange.
For some reason, he couldn't shake off this uneasy feeling.
***
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